Phantom Pains
by iloveyoucalzona
Summary: An idea of how 9x12 could go. Just a quick one shot about Callie and Arizona. I hope you like it! More details inside.


**An idea of how 9x12 could go. It's short, just a quick one shot. I hope you like it!**

Lately, Arizona has been sleeping more peacefully, having allowed Callie back into their bed. She hadn't realized how much she had missed their goodnight kisses, late night talks, and sleeping with their bodies intertwined.

But tonight, even though Arizona is in the safety of her wife's arms, something is different. She can't sleep.

About an hour ago, she began feeling a dull pain in her left knee. Since then, the pain has only worsened. She thinks to herself: "Have I done anything to hurt it? Maybe I ran into the coffee table or something?"

Then she remembers—she doesn't have a left knee. Or a left ankle. Or a left foot. She has nothing but an upper thigh and an atrocious, disgusting stump.

Suddenly, the pain increases, and she can't help but cry out: "AGHHH!"

Callie quickly awakens, having heard her wife scream. "Arizona, what's wrong?"

"My left knee _hurts_, Callie! It hurts, but there's nothing there," Arizona breathlessly replies.

Callie, who usually can't be roused for breakfast, much less in the middle of the night, is completely awake in a matter of seconds. "Arizona. It's okay. I need you to breathe for me, can you do that?"

Arizona just nods, crying because of the pain she's feeling.

"Shh, it's okay. You're going to be fine," Callie soothes, caressing her face. "Just breathe. In for five seconds, out for five seconds. Think of your happy place, okay? You, Sofia, and I are on a beach, in Spain. It's summertime, 100 degrees out, and you look _so_ sexy in your bikini."

Arizona is able to roll her eyes and smirk at her wife, even while she's in agonizing pain.

"I'm serious! Think about it; it will help. You've got to trust me, I'm an orthopedic surgeon remember? We'll have a look in the hospital tomorrow, but for now this will help you get to sleep, okay?"

"Okay," Arizona sighs. "What do you need to do? It _hurts_ Callie."

"It must be excruciating," Callie sympathizes. "Can I take a look at your leg? It helps to massage the area." Even as Callie says this, she regrets it. Especially when she looks at Arizona's pained face—this time not pained from the phantom pains she feels in her knee.

Although she and Arizona have begun mending their relationship and have made great progress, Arizona is still ashamed of her stump and won't even let Callie see her take off her prosthetic. Yet, if there's anything Callie can do to help Arizona tonight, she knows she has to do it.

"Arizona, it could help," Callie tries to assure her.

"Okay. Just do whatever you have to do," Arizona croaks in response.

"Thank you," Callie responds, and with that, she begins lightly kneading the area around the amputation, making small circles with the pads of her thumbs.

Arizona looks down at her stump miserably, horrified that her wife is touching _it_.

When Callie sees her face, she quickly catches her attention: "Hey. Keep breathing," she instructs. Then, Callie smiles up at her. If it weren't for the unbearable pain Arizona was in, her heart would have completely melted over that smile. She could see how much Callie loved her in that smile—something she had been unable see for so long. Something she had refused to accept in the past few months.

Arizona had thought that, now that she only had one leg, she wouldn't be good enough for her wife. She had thought that Callie deserved better. But Callie had shown her time and time again how much Arizona meant to her. How much she loved her. And how much she always would, no matter what. Arizona realized once and for all Callie had meant what she said before the plane crash. It had been right after Arizona saw Nick for the last time; he had been her rock, and soon he would be gone. She had felt so heartbroken due to the fact that her best childhood friend would soon be dead, that she desperately said "Don't ever leave" to Callie. In response, Callie had replied: "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. Whatever you can't do I will, I'm here and that's how this works, okay?"

Arizona realized that this was a promise Callie could keep, and they had begun to mend. Sure, they still hadn't made love since the accident, but at Bailey's wedding, Arizona finally opened up to Callie and realized that she had to let her wife in. That Callie wanted to help Arizona heal just as much as she did, herself. Just like now.

"Is this helping?" Callie asks softly, still massaging the remains of Arizona's leg.

"Yes, actually," Arizona sighs, lying back against her pillow again. "Don't stop. Thank you, Calliope."

"I won't." Callie replies, smiling to herself as she continues her ministrations on her wife's leg. _She called me Calliope_.


End file.
